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A feature article in The Island Financial Review of February 16, 2023 served as a formal event announcement for the inaugural function of a new NGO called the People’s Convention on Good Governance (PCGG) that was scheduled to be held nine days later (i.e., on February 25). Some 1,600 delegates were expected to attend the event. Those included the then President Ranil Wickremesinghe (parliament elected following the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa about seven months previously), prime minister Dinesh Gunewardane, cabinet ministers, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, ‘a few noteworthy parliamentarians’, leaders of all political parties, the diplomatic community, corporate leaders, professionals, university deans, civic leaders, youth leaders, ‘noteworthy personalities’, and a representative group of citizens who cannot ‘influence good governance other than by making correct choices’; local and international media institutions were to be invited to telecast the proceedings for a worldwide viewership.
The convention that was accordingly conducted on 25 Feb., 2023 was a massive operation. It naturally occurred to me then that the Sri Lankan government had a serious responsibility to ensure that the huge benefits to be accrued from the lavish funds collected by the NGO should reach all the adversely circumstanced Sri Lankan citizens for whom generous international donors made them available; otherwise, the money would end up in the wrong hands, as it usually happens in Sri Lanka. The benefits of the largesse should be distributed equitably among the deserving without discrimination or favouritism that is based on race, caste, religion or ethnicity; the NGO activists owe it to the suffering masses.
Arun Siddharth (birth name: Arulanandam Arun), convenor of the Jaffna Civil Society Centre, was among the 1600 or so invited participants at the PCGG event which was held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo (on 25 Feb., 2023, as already mentioned). He had come with a delegation of about fifty Tamil men and women from Jaffna who had been persecuted by the LTTE.
Arun Siddharth took part in a panel discussion on ethnicity conducted by this new NGO, the PCGG. The positive implications of Arun’s participation in that important event for dispelling the dense clouds of disinformation and misinformation that constantly tarnish Sri Lanka’s international image as a sovereign nation cannot be exaggerated. Using the rare opportunity that came his way to share the stage with the big guns of the PCGG (such as Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu being, among other things, the founder head of the NGO known as the Centre for Policy Alternatives), Arun Siddharth advanced arguments with supportive evidence to convince the members of the convention, especially representatives of the international community, that there is no problem of ethnic disharmony or conflict between the Tamil minority and the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka to be resolved and that the real issue that affects the lives of sixty per cent of the Tamil population in the North is the severe caste discrimination and oppression that is allowed to continue under the ruling political elite of that part of the island.
That elite includes the retired supreme court judge turned politician C. V. Wigneshwaran, and M. A. Sumanthiran. Arun Siddharth called their bluff and incidentally exposed the sham of reconciliation politics fraudulently sustained by the powers that be out of ulterior motives. He thereby delivered a potentially dangerous blow on the lucrative NGO industry that thrives on uncalled-for reconciliation efforts.
Arun Siddharth’s vocal participation in the panel discussion on the alleged problem of ethnicity must have proved to be a complete surprise, as well as a disturbing eye-opener, to most of the distinguished participants, because he flatly denied that there was any ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka to be tackled. He supported his argument with incontrovertible proof based on personal experience.
His revelation was perhaps an unintended blow to the NGO which was primarily set up to address a non-existent need for ‘reconciliation’, to build bridges between the majority Buddhist Sinhalese and the majority Hindu Tamils. The truth is that there is no need to build new bridges between the ordinary Sinhalese and ordinary Tamils, who in their mutually compatible and naturally co-existing (Hindu and Buddhist) religious cultures, together form over eighty percent of the population that is very tolerant and accommodating towards other religious communities.
The bridges are already there, though somewhat damaged recently by certain meddlesome international do-gooders (an ephemeral tribe of civil servants accountable only to the existing governments of the countries that they represent, but not to the common suffering, but sovereign, Sri Lankan masses). In my opinion, Arun Siddharth has great potential power to permanently repair these recently broken bridges, and he is emerging as a unique new star in the ascendant in the northern political firmament.
He actualises a break with the past in several ways. He doesn’t want to be a regional politician, unlike his casteist and racist elite counterpart who, while living safely in the South (Colombo) among the peaceful Sinhalese, visit the North (Jaffna) to do communal politics among the innocent Tamils, peddling the useful myth that the Sinhalese are their sworn enemies. Arun works with the downtrodden majority (sixty percent) of Tamils in that region, the so-called low caste Tamils, as one of them.Though the fighting cadres of the LTTE were mainly recruited from his class, his family experienced violence at the hands of the LTTE, and he was opposed to that organisation and the separatist goal it espoused.
Now in his forties, Arun says he remained silenced (presumably by pro-separatist forces). According to him, his father edited a Tamil language newspaper in Colombo, and he was a Marxist. Arun himself seems to mix his politics with Marxist ideas. Arun Siddharth is bravely taking on ‘disgusting caste based Tamil elite politics’ while also criticising the long entrenched Tamil separatist ideology. Equally significantly, he rejects brazen Indian expansionism in Sri Lanka. It is obvious he enjoys enthusiastic reception both in the South and in the North, which appears to be more marked in the former.
After two unsuccessful alliances (probably initiated by him as a fact-finding strategy) made with the mainstream national parties of the SLFP and the UNP consecutively, Arun has joined the Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya (MJP) founded and led by former lawyer and entrepreneur Dilith Jayaweera, where he was admitted to the supreme council of the party as a member. Later he was appointed the MJP Jaffna District Organiser by Jayaweera.
The MJP is the main constituent of the new alliance named the Sarvajana Balaya (All People Power), which is fighting the upcoming general election under the ‘Medal’ symbol. Arun Siddharth is Sarvajana Balaya’s parliamentary candidate for the Jaffna district. About a month ago, he made an impassioned as well as well reasoned appeal in eloquent Sinhala and Tamil for understanding and support from the national electorate both in the North and the South. Incidentally, it should be mentioned that Udaya Gammanpila’s Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) and Wimal Weerawansa’s Jathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) are also partners of the Sarvajana Balaya alliance.
Udaya Gammanpila is contesting for the Colombo district under the same symbol as Arun, i.e., the Medal. Weerawansa has decided to stay out of the contest, though obviously, the seasoned politician has no intention of leaving politics or the Sarvajana Balaya. It is also clear that whatever success the Medal achieves at the parliamentary election will ultimately contribute towards strengthening President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his government, provided they are wise and humble enough to heed their constructive criticism and critical help.
Unfortunately however, Dilith Jayaweera’s inexplicable failure to cleanse lingering stains of his past association with the ruinous Rajapaksas and his questionable co-option of a character like Daham Sirisena, son of discredited former Yahapalana president Sirisena, will prove to be clear drawbacks unless remedied soon.
I for one have already proposed several times in the recent past that the main key to resolving Sri Lanka’s chronic as well as emergent political, economic, and social problems is the restoration of accustomed peaceful coexistence, cultural integration and solidarity between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities in the context of ineluctable realities of geopolitical pressures that have been and continue to be exerted on our island home for over two and a half millennia. Arun Siddharth from the North has much to contribute to restoring North South unity which is vital for Sri Lanka’s survival as a sovereign nation into the future.
Possible scenario after general election
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Why economic growth, investment confidence, effective public administration, and responsible budget management matter for improving people’s lives
by Prof. Ranjith Bandara, PhD (Qld.) Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
8. Spending Money Is Not the Same as Achieving Results
Good budget management does not mean spending every allocated rupee simply because the financial year is coming to an end.
Such an approach can encourage unnecessary purchases, poor-quality construction, and wasteful expenditure. Similarly, unspent funds do not always represent failure. Sometimes expenditure is lower because procurement costs have declined or unnecessary activities have been avoided. The real question is whether public money has achieved its intended purpose. This is the principle behind performance-based budgeting.
Under this approach, government performance is judged not only by how much has been spent, but also by what has been delivered.
Consider a road development project.
Its success should not be measured simply by the amount spent on construction.
We should also ask whether travel time has fallen, transport costs have declined, farmers have gained better market access, and surrounding communities have benefited.
The same principle should apply to other sectors.
In education, the focus should include better learning facilities and educational outcomes.
In healthcare, it should include improved access, better services, and more effective treatment.
In agriculture, it should include higher productivity, lower production losses, and better incomes for farmers. The purpose of public expenditure is not merely to spend money. It is to improve people’s lives.
The government should introduce stronger arrangements for monitoring development expenditure and assessing results. Every major project should have a realistic implementation timetable, a clearly identified responsible institution, and measurable financial and physical targets.
Ministries and departments should publish quarterly progress reports. These reports should explain not only how much money has been spent, but also what work has been completed. Projects falling behind schedule should be identified early. The reasons for delays should be examined, and corrective action should follow.
Senior officials should be accountable for project performance. At the same time, they should receive the professional support and administrative safeguards needed to carry out their responsibilities. The objective should not be to punish officials simply because expenditure is low.
It should be to identify genuine obstacles, remove unnecessary delays, and deliver development benefits more efficiently. The government must also evaluate proposed investments carefully before introducing additional projects.
There is little value in repeatedly announcing new projects while existing ones remain unfinished. This leads to a fundamental question. When billions of rupees are allocated for development at the beginning of the year, what measurable benefits can the government show the public at the end of that year? If there is no convincing answer, the large figures announced in a budget speech have little meaning for ordinary citizens.
9. What Should We Expect from the 2027 Budget?
The 2027 Budget provides an opportunity to move beyond short-term relief and establish a stronger foundation for national development. The government should certainly address the financial difficulties faced by households.
Salary increases, targeted social protection, and improvements in essential public services can help reduce hardship. However, these measures must form part of a wider economic strategy.
The budget should clearly explain how the government intends to increase production, create employment, strengthen exports, attract investment, and improve people’s real incomes. It should also identify the practical steps required to achieve these objectives. Sri Lanka needs measurable economic targets, realistic development priorities, and clear implementation arrangements.
Major projects should have publicly available information on their costs, expected benefits, responsible institutions, and completion dates. Progress should be reviewed regularly, and the public should be able to understand what has been achieved.
The government must also recognise the constraints created by public debt and available revenue. Economic development and social protection must be financed responsibly. Otherwise, the country risks undermining the stability it has worked hard to restore.
Equally important is the need to ensure that the benefits of recovery reach people beyond the public service. Farmers, private sector employees, small business owners, self-employed workers, pensioners, unemployed young people, and low-income households must also have opportunities to improve their living conditions. Young people, in particular, need confidence that they can build successful futures in their own country.
Businesses need confidence to invest, expand, and create jobs. Farmers need opportunities to improve productivity and earn reasonable incomes. Households need greater confidence that their earnings will be sufficient to meet essential expenses. Public institutions must become more efficient, transparent, and responsive.
Above all, the government must demonstrate that public funds are being used effectively. A budget should not merely announce what the government intends to do. It should establish how those promises will be implemented, who will be responsible, when results can be expected, and how success will be measured. That is the difference between a budget of promises and a budget of results.
From Budget Promises to Economic Results
Sri Lanka has made meaningful progress since the economic crisis of 2022. Greater stability, renewed growth, and improvements in public finances are important achievements. However, economic stability is only the beginning of recovery. The country still faces serious challenges.
Many households continue to struggle with living costs. Young people need better employment opportunities. Businesses need greater confidence. Farmers and rural communities need stronger economic opportunities. Public institutions must become more efficient and effective.
These challenges cannot be solved through salary increases alone. Nor can they be overcome simply by announcing large development allocations. What Sri Lanka needs is a long-term economic strategy supported by practical action. We need an economy that produces more, exports more, attracts responsible investment, creates better jobs, and steadily improves people’s real incomes. We also need public institutions that are accountable, efficient, and capable of making timely decisions within the law.
The government must ensure that money allocated for development is used effectively, projects are completed, and public investments deliver measurable benefits.
The 2027 Budget should therefore mark a shift in economic management.
From promises to implementation. From allocations to results. From temporary relief to lasting economic progress.
These observations should not be viewed merely as political criticism. They represent important economic and administrative issues that deserve serious and constructive consideration. Ultimately, the goal of economic policy is not simply to produce favourable statistics or impressive budget announcements. It is to create a country where people can find meaningful employment, earn reasonable incomes, meet their essential needs, and live with dignity. The true measure of the 2027 Budget will not be what the government promises, but what it actually delivers to the people.
Sri Lanka’s 2027 Budget Speech is scheduled for November 12, 2026. The Appropriation Bill has already been presented to Parliament, and public expectations are high.
After several years of economic hardship, people are looking for relief. They want better incomes, affordable essential goods, secure employment, and improved public services. Above all, they want confidence in their country’s future. Much of the discussion surrounding the forthcoming budget has focused on the expected increase in public sector salaries. Such increases are welcome. Public servants deserve fair remuneration, particularly after the financial difficulties they have experienced. However, an important question remains.
Can salary increases alone improve people’s living standards and rebuild Sri Lanka’s economy?
Before answering this question, we must recognise the progress made since the economic crisis of 2022. Sri Lanka has regained a degree of economic stability. Foreign exchange reserves have improved, economic growth has resumed, and progress has been made in managing public finances.
According to the World Bank, the economy grew by 4.7% during the first half of 2026. This is an encouraging achievement.
However, economic recovery and improved living standards are not necessarily the same thing. An economy can grow while many families continue to struggle with their daily expenses. This is the central challenge facing Sri Lanka today.
The real test of the 2027 Budget is therefore not how much money the government promises to spend. It is whether those promises can be translated into better living conditions, productive investment, employment opportunities, and lasting economic progress.
1. Salary Increases: Welcome relief, but not lasting solution
Higher salaries can help working people meet their household expenses. This is particularly important for public servants who have experienced financial pressure during recent years.
However, the expected salary increase in 2027 should be understood in its proper context. The salary revision introduced in Budget 2025 was designed to be implemented in three stages. The first stage began in 2025, the second took effect in 2026, and the final stage is scheduled for 2027.
Therefore, the expected increase largely represents the completion of an earlier government commitment rather than an entirely new initiative. Regular salary reviews are necessary. Normal annual increments may not fully compensate workers for increases in the cost of living. However, there is another important consideration.
A higher salary does not always mean a better standard of living.
Consider a simple example. Suppose a public servant earns Rs. 60,000 per month. If the salary increases by Rs. 5,000, the employee receives approximately 8.3% more. This is certainly beneficial.
However, if the prices of goods and services have also increased by around 8% over the same period, the improvement in purchasing power will be very small.
Economists explain this through the difference between nominal wages and real wages. Nominal wages refer to the amount of money a person receives. Real wages indicate what that money can actually buy. For ordinary people, this distinction is extremely important.
A family is not concerned only about the amount appearing on a salary slip. It is concerned about whether that income can cover food, electricity, transport, education, healthcare, and other essential expenses.
Salary increases should therefore be considered as part of a wider policy to improve real incomes.
They must also remain financially sustainable, taking into account government revenue, productivity, public debt, and other expenditure commitments.
The objective should not simply be to increase salaries. It should be to help people live better.
2. Economic Recovery: Why Are People Still Struggling?
Official statistics show that Sri Lanka’s economy has improved. However, they do not always capture the full extent of the difficulties experienced by ordinary households. Recent figures illustrate this concern.
In October 2026, annual inflation, measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index, stood at 8.3%. According to World Bank estimates, the poverty rate remained at 16.9% in 2025.
The overall unemployment rate was 4.0% in the second quarter of 2026. However, unemployment among young people aged 15–24 was considerably higher, at 17.8%.
Labour force participation was only 50.0% during the same quarter, highlighting the need to expand opportunities for productive employment. Nutrition also remains a concern. According to the Ministry of Health’s 2025 Nutrition Month data, 16.1% of children under five were underweight.
These figures tell us something important. Although the economy has recovered, the benefits have not yet reached everyone equally. Low-income families, pensioners, self-employed workers, and people without secure employment continue to face considerable financial difficulties.
We must also understand the difference between inflation and the cost of living. When inflation declines, it generally means that prices are rising more slowly. It does not necessarily mean that prices are falling. For example, suppose a food item that previously cost Rs. 100 increases to Rs. 200. Even if inflation subsequently declines, the price may remain close to Rs. 200.
This explains why households may continue to struggle even when economic indicators improve.
The government must therefore look beyond national averages and examine the actual circumstances of ordinary people.
Economic recovery becomes meaningful when families can afford a reasonable standard of living.
3. A stronger productive Economy: Foundation of lasting prosperity
Sri Lanka’s economic problem is not simply that salaries are too low.
A deeper problem is that the country has not developed a sufficiently strong, competitive, and diversified productive economy. We need an economy that produces more goods and services, creates better jobs, increases incomes, and competes successfully in international markets. A government can increase salaries, provide subsidies, and introduce tax concessions.
However, these benefits cannot be sustained unless national production, productivity, and income also increase. If government expenditure continues to rise without sufficient growth in economic activity and revenue, the country may eventually face higher taxes, greater borrowing, or renewed financial difficulties.
The 2027 Budget must therefore place greater emphasis on strengthening production and productivity. Agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, information technology, and export-oriented services all have important roles to play. Small and medium-sized enterprises deserve particular attention.
They provide employment, support local economic activity, and create opportunities throughout the country. Yet many businesses struggle with high financing costs, outdated technology, limited access to markets, and administrative difficulties.
Government policy should help these enterprises become more productive and competitive. Rural economic development is equally important. Farmers need better irrigation, storage facilities, transport, modern technology, and access to markets. Rural entrepreneurs need opportunities to add value to their products and increase their incomes.
Sri Lanka must also address another fundamental economic question.
How will the country earn the foreign exchange it needs?
Borrowing dollars is not the same as earning dollars.
Foreign borrowing may help meet immediate financial requirements, but it creates future repayment obligations. A sustainable economy must earn foreign exchange through exports, tourism, services, and other productive activities.
Sri Lanka should strengthen its traditional exports while developing opportunities in information technology, professional services, digital industries, and knowledge-based activities.
Workers’ remittances through formal channels also remain an important source of foreign exchange. However, these opportunities require skilled workers, modern infrastructure, investment, and consistent government policies.
A productive economy cannot be built through budget announcements alone. It requires a clear national development strategy, realistic targets, and effective implementation.
4. Investment confidence: Can development take place without it?
Domestic and foreign investment is essential for economic growth. Investment creates businesses, employment, technology, and new sources of income. However, investors need more than invitations, speeches, and promises. They need confidence.
They need stable policies, clear regulations, a fair tax system, reliable institutions, and an efficient public administration. This raises an important question.
Does Sri Lanka provide a sufficiently predictable environment for investors to make long-term decisions? Delays in obtaining approvals, unexpected policy changes, uncertainty over contracts, and difficulties in dealing with government agencies can discourage investment. Existing investors also deserve attention. Their legitimate concerns should be heard and resolved through transparent and lawful procedures.
A country cannot expect to attract substantial new investment while failing to address the problems faced by those who have already invested. Political communication also matters.
There is a difference between the language used by political leaders while in opposition and the responsibilities they carry after forming a government. Exposing corruption and investigating wrongdoing are essential. These efforts must continue without political interference. However, fighting corruption must also be accompanied by a clear and positive economic development programme.
Investors should hear not only about past failures and investigations, but also about future opportunities, policy stability, the rule of law, and the government’s economic direction. They need to understand where the country is heading.
Accountability and investment confidence are not competing objectives. Both are necessary for sustainable development. The challenge is to strengthen them together.
5. Public administration: Accountability and confidence to act
An efficient public service is essential for national development. Higher salaries may improve employees’ financial wellbeing, but they will not automatically improve the quality of public administration. Public officials also need professional skills, modern technology, clear responsibilities, and the confidence to make lawful decisions. One concern deserves particular attention.
Some senior public officials may be reluctant to exercise their lawful authority because they fear that administrative decisions could later become the subject of investigations or legal proceedings. This concern can arise in procurement, contract approvals, project implementation, and other development-related activities. If such fears become widespread, government work may slow down.
Projects may be delayed. Approvals may remain pending. Investors may lose confidence, and the public may experience unnecessary difficulties.
However, the answer is not to weaken investigative institutions. Independent investigations are essential for preventing corruption, abuse of power, and misuse of public resources. What is needed is a fair and transparent administrative system. Officials who deliberately violate the law must be held accountable.
At the same time, officials who act honestly, reasonably, and within their legal authority should receive appropriate professional safeguards and fair treatment. Clear procedures, proper documentation, transparent procurement rules, and accessible review mechanisms can help achieve this balance.
The government should also strengthen professional training and reduce unnecessary administrative complexity. Public officials must clearly understand both their responsibilities and the limits of their authority.
Good governance does not mean preventing officials from making decisions. It means ensuring that decisions are lawful, transparent, timely, and responsible. Sri Lanka needs a public service that is accountable for its actions and confident enough to perform its duties.
6. Development, inflation, and tax burden
Sri Lanka needs investment in infrastructure, energy, transport, irrigation, education, and healthcare. Well-planned public investment can increase productivity and support economic growth.
Better roads can reduce transport costs. Reliable electricity can improve industrial production. Modern irrigation can help farmers increase output. However, not every large development project will produce these benefits. Projects must be selected carefully. Their economic returns, financial costs, environmental effects, and long-term sustainability should be evaluated before implementation.
There is little value in starting expensive projects that fail to deliver meaningful benefits. Public investment can help reduce production costs over time, but it does not automatically control inflation. Price stability also requires responsible monetary policy, sound public finances, competitive markets, and reliable supplies of essential goods.
Exchange-rate management is another important consideration. A reasonably stable rupee helps businesses plan their activities and reduces uncertainty about import costs. However, attempting to maintain an artificially strong currency can weaken export competitiveness.
Lasting exchange-rate stability must be supported by stronger exports, improved productivity, investment, adequate foreign reserves, and confidence in economic management. Taxation also deserves careful attention.
Many households and businesses hope for tax relief. This expectation is understandable given the financial difficulties they have experienced. However, substantial tax reductions without adequate alternative revenue could weaken public finances and create new economic risks. The better approach is to make taxation fairer and more efficient.
This means widening the tax base, reducing tax evasion, improving tax administration, controlling wasteful government expenditure, and providing carefully targeted relief where financially possible.
The government must balance people’s immediate needs with the country’s long-term financial stability.
7. Budget Management: Why Are Allocated Funds Not Being Spent?
One of the most important issues that deserves attention in the 2027 Budget is the government’s ability to use public funds effectively. Preparing a budget and allocating money are only the beginning.
The real challenge is to convert those allocations into completed projects and practical benefits for the people. Sri Lanka has repeatedly faced difficulties in implementing development expenditure.
Every year, large sums are allocated for roads, schools, hospitals, irrigation systems, and other public investments. These announcements naturally create public expectations.
However, allocating money does not mean that development has taken place. If projects are delayed and funds remain unused, the expected benefits are also delayed. Recent expenditure figures highlight this problem. During the first six months of 2026, approximately Rs. 1,719 billion had been allocated for capital expenditure and net lending for the full year.
By the end of June, only about Rs. 280 billion had been spent. That represented just 16.3% of the annual allocation. During the same period, overall government expenditure reached 39.2% of annual allocations, while recurrent expenditure reached 45.9%.
The comparable first-half figure for capital expenditure and net lending in 2025 was 17.5%. These figures suggest that slow implementation of development-related expenditure is not a problem confined to a single year. Of course, expenditure is not always distributed evenly throughout the year. Large construction projects may require substantial payments during the later months. Therefore, the first six months alone cannot determine the final performance of the year. Nevertheless, such low expenditure levels deserve serious examination.
Why does this matter to ordinary people?
The consequences extend far beyond government accounting. Suppose funds are allocated to improve a hospital, but construction is delayed. Patients must continue without the facilities they were promised. If money is allocated for a school building but the project does not begin, students lose opportunities to study in better conditions. If irrigation projects remain incomplete, farmers may be unable to increase production.
If rural roads are delayed, transport costs remain high and farmers continue to face difficulties reaching markets. These delays also affect the wider economy.
Development projects create demand for construction materials, transport, engineering services, machinery, and labour. They provide business opportunities for contractors, suppliers, and smaller enterprises. When projects are postponed, these opportunities are postponed as well.
Employment creation can slow down, businesses may lose expected income, and communities must wait longer for improvements. Weak budget implementation is therefore not merely an administrative problem. It can become a serious economic problem.
Why does development expenditure remain slow?
There is no single explanation. Some projects begin with inadequate planning. Others face procurement delays, difficulties acquiring land, or problems obtaining environmental and other approvals. Poor coordination between ministries, departments, and government agencies can create further obstacles.
Some institutions may lack the technical expertise or experienced personnel needed to implement complex projects. Delays in releasing Treasury funds and restrictions arising from fiscal pressures may also affect implementation. Another possible reason is hesitation among officials responsible for approving contracts and financial commitments.
Where concerns about future investigations discourage lawful decision-making, the government must provide clearer procedures and appropriate professional safeguards. However, it would be unfair to blame public officials alone. The entire system requires examination, from project selection and planning to procurement, funding, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
Responsibility must be shared by political leadership, administrative institutions, and the officials responsible for individual projects. (To be continued)
Wewage Don Helena Dep Weerasinghe was born in 1864 at Waragoda, Kelaniya, and married to Muhandiram Don Philip Tudugala Wijewardene of Tudugala, Kalutara on 1st September 1880, at the Christ Church Cathedral, Mutuwal. Don Philip was a well known timber merchant.
This marriage marked the beginning of a new era of the Wijewardene family, which had its roots in Sedawatte.
Don Philip and Helena had nine children: seven boys and two girls. They were DON PHILIP ALEXANDER, AGNES HELEN, DON LOUIS, DON RICHARD, DON EDMUND, LIZZIE HARRIET, DON CHARLES, DON WALTER AND DON ALBERT.
Helena’s son DON RICHARD popularly known as DR was the founder of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd (ANCL). He named his newspaper office in Fort after his mother’s name ‘Wewage’, presently known as ‘Lake House’. After the Government took over the newspapers, DR’s son Ranjith Wijewardene founded Wijeya Newspapers which now publishes ‘Sunday Times’, ‘Lankadeepa’ and ‘Daily Mirror’. DR Wijewardene’s grandsons are Ranil Wickramasinghe, former President of Sri Lanka, and Ruwan Wijewardene, former State Minister of Defence.
Helena’s eldest daughter, Agne Helen’s son, Junius Richard (JR) Jayewardene became the first Executive President of Sri Lanka in 1978.
After her marriage to Don Philip, Helena with the family visited the Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya on a full moon day in 1880 for worship. This visit marked a new chapter in the history of the temple. On this day, when she walked into the Viharaya to offer flowers at the Buddha statue, her feet sank into the mud on the then unpaved floor. This incident made her sad about the dilapidated state of the temple that existed at that time. She therefore decided then and there to restore the temple and make it worthy of being a place of worship.
As the first step of the restoration work, she got the floor of the Vihara paved with uniform rock slabs. One slab was inscribed with her initials and the year, ‘H.D.W 1888’. This slab was laid near the main entrance to mark this event. Later, in 1902, she replaced the wooden flower-altar that was in the Viharaya with a better one made of marble.
The restoration work of the temple thus began and continued over many years. In 1927, she laid the foundation stone for the complete restoration of the old Vihara. For this purpose, she brought artisans and sculptors from India and employed architects and artists from Sri Lanka. Her son Don Walter Wijewardene was a tower of strength to her and supported and encouraged her in all her renovation activities of the temple. A new wing was added to the old shrine room along with a central octagonal roof in the Kandyan style. Murals with a new style of delineation and colour were drawn on the walls of the new chambers. The pillars and the ceilings were executed in the traditional style of ancient sculpture. The doors and doorways were engraved with the Kandyan style of ornamental carvings.
Having undertaken the enormous restoration work of the temple over a lengthy period of time, the far-seeing lady turned her attention to the question of the future maintenance of the temple. A paddy field and a coconut plantation covering 250 acres in extent, were donated to the temple and with its annual income a fund called ‘The Kelaniya Kalawewa Trust Fund’ were created. In addition to this, another property, called Uyanwatte, situated at Kelanimulla on the other side of the river, was also gifted to be maintained as a flower garden to supply the daily requirement of flowers for the poojas at the temple.
All lovers of Sinhala art and sculpture, therefore, owe a great debt of honour and gratitude to this gracious lady, Mrs Helena Wijewardene of Sedawatte. Today, because of her magnanimous work the restored Kelani Vihara, the pride of the nation’s heritage, stands as a living monument to her pious zeal and munificence.
After the demise of her husband, Don Philip, in 1903, Helena Wijewardene moved out of Sedawatte and purchased ‘Rickmand House’ on Stuart Place, now known as 44 Galle Road, Colombo 3, where she built the family’s private residence, after demolishing ‘Rickmand House’. The new building was designed by architect Herbert Henry Reid, who later drew up plans for the restoration of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara,
The Wijewardene family – who were the patrons of the Viharaya – named their new villa ‘Sri Ramya’. Mrs Helena Wijewardene was the maternal grandmother of former President JR Jayewardene, who often visited this house during his childhood.
‘Sri Ramya’ was perhaps Sri Lanka’s first private residence, situated by the sea,
Few are aware that it was at ‘Sri Ramya’ the first trial performance of the Kelaniya Temple ‘Duruthu Perahera’ began. The Wijewardene children recall that this early version of the perahera began with them carrying the sacred relic in a small procession out through one gate and returning through the other. Today Helena’s great grandson Dhammika Attygalle is the Chief Basnayake Nilame of the temple.
As the temple’s patrons, the family was entrusted with keeping the holy relic while the Vihara was being restored. A small rear room (above the drive) of ‘Sri Ramya’ was fitted for the purpose with murals by the renowned artist Solis Mendis, who also painted the well-known Kelaniya Temple murals. One mural he painted there in 1930 shows Helena Wijewardene with her sons standing in front of ‘Sri Ramya’.
The first wedding at this villa took place on January 9, 1931, between Helena Wijewardene’s son Don Walter Wijewardene and Anula Kalyani Wijesinghe of Kamburupitiya. They were the parents of business magnate Upali Wijewardene, who was born in this same building. At ‘Sri Ramya,’ Helena saw the birth of four grandchildren: Rukmani Beligammana, daughter of Don Charles, and three children of Don Walter – Anoja Wijesundera, Kalyani Attygalle and Upali Wijewardene.
Helena’s eldest son DON ALEXANDER was the first Ceylonese to purchase and operate a modern Cargo Vessel, the SS ‘Pengely’, which travelled to Europe, Asia and the USA, Helena’s grandson Philip Upali – PUW was the first Sri Lankan to own a private Lear jet and a Bell Ranger Helicopter.
In May 1934, well-known Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore and painter Nanda Lai Bose spent a fortnight at ‘Sri Ramya’ during a visit to Sri Lanka. In 1940 Sir Ivor Jennings called at the villa to meet noted ophthalmologist Dr A F Seneviratne, son-in-law of the elder Wijewardene. On November 10 of the same year, Helena Wijewardene passed away at ‘Sri Ramya’ at the height of World War II.
Helena’s ashes are kept at mausoleum at Madampitiya cemetery.
In 1951, U S Government purchased the ‘Sri Ramya’ for its Embassy and since 1993 it is the American Center and its Library.
The ancestral Sedawatte Walawwa situated at Wellampitiya Road, Kolonnawa now belongs to Helena’s great-grandson Shalitha Wijesundera.
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